…tiny American flags for all!
October 24th, 2003 | by Scott Jennings |I’m a sucker for emotional scenes, so the homecoming of the USS Iwo Jima had me on the verge of tears early. My usual defense against public crying is ironic detachment (it’s a skill), so I’m fortunate that the scene gave me all I needed to launch into full snark mode, starting with the free distribution of tiny American flags (made in China, natch), and winding up with the Toby Keith classic “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue.” Somehow, I was left no longer invested emotionally in what was going on. Found Jeff on the pier, gave him a hug, and left the base.
If we had a brass band playing “Stars and Stripes Forever,” or the Lee Greenwood masterpiece “Proud To Be An American,” watching the massive Navy vessel creep back into port with the rails manned in an unwavering show of strength, I’d have lost my shit on the pier. But the moment was destroyed by the Statue of Liberty shaking her fist with two-thirds of the crowd singing every word (I hate that fucking song), and everything wrong with this country and this foreign policy and these wars and the way our society has chosen to deal with the threats it has brought upon itself with decades of this imperialistic nonsense.
So yeah, that moment was basically stolen from me. Don’t know why I was surprised. Sure is nice to have my little brother back from them, though.
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